Samajwadi Party leader Neeraj Shekhar on Monday resigned as a member of the Rajya Sabha and his party, NDTV reported. His resignation from the Upper House was accepted by its Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu.
Shekhar is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, PTI reported citing sources. His Rajya Sabha term was to end next year. The politician told Naidu that he was resigning voluntarily and not out of any compulsion.
Shekhar became a member of the Lok Sabha in 2008 in the bye-elections for Ballia constituency on a Samajwadi Party ticket. In 2009, he won again from the same constituency. However, in 2019, the Samajwadi Party did not give him a Lok Sabha ticket from Ballia.
Shekhar’s resignation means the Samajwadi Party, led by former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, has only nine members in the Rajya Sabha, and five in the Lok Sabha. Shekhar is the son of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.
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